Counterfeit invasion

[sidogar]

17 October 2011 In a world where the line between dishonesty and technology has been blurred a large number of law-abiding people who do not see themselves as criminal are contributing to deception and the compromise of intellectual property. The capture of 60,000 pirated game CDs by the Dubai Customs is a case in point. They deserve congratulations for what is a thankless task.
If there was no market for these false goods there would be no effort to risk breaking the law. Whenever we thoughtlessly purchase a rip-off, be it a film or music or a game, we are actually contributing to the underground counterfeit market. Unfortunately, because the originals are so out of the financial reach of the common man there is no regret or guilt in buying the copy at a throwaway price. This problem has now become endemic and as the copycat product range not only widens and improves in quality there are going to be more takers for these goods.

If one were to ask the average end-user how he felt about what is actually cheating he would shrug and laugh off the accusation. In some ways the rights of the intellectual property ownership have been strangled by the ether. In fairness to the ignorance of the public the matter can become quite confusing. If a person can download music or film of such high quality in a matter of minutes and often feel guiltless because the site almost encourages the arrangement, people then wonder what is so wrong in buying the DVD or CD which is now processed and smuggled from abroad and made easily available. Move on from there to branded clothing, watches, jewellery, even electronic items and the sense of purchase for a made in whatever country imitation, it’s almost a cry of triumph because it works as well as the real thing.

It is an uphill task for the authorities to police the frauds because the use per se is not on their side and that makes it very difficult to wipe out the 
parallel market.

The point really is that once the false good flood the shops where does it stop? Would you purchase medicines that are of doubtful origin and risk the health of a loved one? Would you put false spare parts in your car to save money and feel comfortable? That is the problem. There is no difference between the CD and the medical tablet and the brake pads and the more people who realize 
this the better.